Skystranded

2026-07-22

Skystranded, the next creation from Team Panoptes, our Brussels-based game studio established in 2017, is our third venture into VR. Building on the success of our past titles - Panoptic, an award-winning asymmetric PC-vs-VR game with a foreboding ambiance and hiding-in-plain-sight mechanics, and Silhouette, an inventive hand-tracking puzzler built around shadow puppetry - we aim to merge our expertise in innovative, VR-native game mechanics with a narrative-driven, movement-based roguelite experience inspired by urban exploration. Set within colossal abandoned towers inspired by brutalist architecture, Skystranded asks players to ascend these megastructures, unveiling the history of the world. Central to the gameplay is the Telesphere, an ancient artifact players can throw to teleport to its landing spot, in a physically-based locomotion system. Players will use it to navigate procedurally-generated environments, creatively solving puzzles. The game alternates between exploration phases lasting 15 to 30 minutes and moments within the player's aircraft to inspect artifacts, unravel mysteries, and prepare for upcoming expeditions. A modular building blocks system lets players customize their next climb, with new options and combinations unlocking as they progress. From a narrative standpoint, players assume the role of a researcher investigating the towers. Following mysterious transmissions, they embark on a increasingly perplexing journey featuring shifting voices and a central mystery tied to the enigmatic tower builders and subsequent occupants. A dynamic, hierarchical system empowers players to co-author the sequence of story elements they encounter. Skystranded is our most ambitious project to date, surpassing previous endeavors in story depth, procedural generation, and content across gameplay, audio, and visuals. It represents a pivotal moment for the studio, marking its first growth since inception and is our first truly narratively-driven experience.

Belgium

2026-03-01